:00:00. > :00:10.Meet the people whose homes have been wrecked by sinkholes.
:00:11. > :00:15.Find out how we can avoid building new houses in problem places.
:00:16. > :00:18.We investigate the missing millions and the half built stand
:00:19. > :00:30.The sense of being let down, betrayal.
:00:31. > :00:34.And Norfolk boy Kieron Williamson is just 13 but his paintings
:00:35. > :00:45.See how this creative genius makes a new work.
:00:46. > :00:47.Revealing the stories that matter closer to home.
:00:48. > :01:01.It the last thing you'd expect, to come home and find a hole
:01:02. > :01:08.Sinkholes can appear pretty much without any warning
:01:09. > :01:11.and they are getting more common and, if you're buying a house,
:01:12. > :01:14.a survey won't necessarily pick up that there are any problems
:01:15. > :01:26.Back in October a giant sink hole literally swallowed up this street
:01:27. > :01:36.Actually it is only when you get up close to it can you see the scale
:01:37. > :01:40.Look, you have pipes hanging off here, bricks that are falling in.
:01:41. > :01:43.Now building work has happened here and they have already filled
:01:44. > :01:47.But if you live around here in one of these houses surrounding here,
:01:48. > :01:49.the worry surely is, could another hole just like this
:01:50. > :01:58.I am going to find out why this happened and what we might need
:01:59. > :02:07.to do to protect our homes in the future.
:02:08. > :02:10.We went out the front and we could see ? We could not get
:02:11. > :02:13.near because they had put fencing round but we could see
:02:14. > :02:21.Rosemary and Derek have lived here for nearly 40 years.
:02:22. > :02:26.They, like other families on the street, were moved out
:02:27. > :02:31.and most are now back, but even now things are still a struggle.
:02:32. > :02:35.The path takes you to the main road and you walk into town
:02:36. > :02:38.but it has been muddy sometimes, wet, flooded.
:02:39. > :02:42.And there is a shuttle service, is there?
:02:43. > :02:46.We call it our taxi, this little shuttle service,
:02:47. > :02:49.as that is the only way we can get across to the fire station
:02:50. > :02:58.The hole was caused by the surface of an old chalk pit
:02:59. > :03:04.Across this part of the country there are a lot of old chalk pits
:03:05. > :03:07.making the area prone to holes opening up.
:03:08. > :03:13.In fact, right up until the 19th century a lot of our region actually
:03:14. > :03:16.sits on chalk but it is this chalk that is making us
:03:17. > :03:22.And it is the combination of old mines and rain that
:03:23. > :03:27.The bad news is that heavy rain is making it worse.
:03:28. > :03:30.In Hertfordshire there have been six major collapses
:03:31. > :03:38.One of these typical holes in the ground in this sort
:03:39. > :03:42.You cannot believe the size of it, really, can you?
:03:43. > :03:44.They are quite surprising, aren't they?
:03:45. > :03:47.So what do we need to do to protect our homes?
:03:48. > :03:57.I have come to Stevenage to meet sinkhole expert Dr Clive Edmonds.
:03:58. > :04:00.You often see dips and holes like this in the ground but this
:04:01. > :04:04.Yes it's a pretty big hole isn't it and it's probably been here a long
:04:05. > :04:09.time and probably relates to the late 1700s or early 1800s,
:04:10. > :04:12.where chalk has been excavated out and perhaps mined and that
:04:13. > :04:16.We are getting a lot of nature at the moment.
:04:17. > :04:20.Can you see the problem becoming exacerbated?
:04:21. > :04:25.You have increased chances of holes appearing when you
:04:26. > :04:29.We have more concentrated rainfall for prolonged periods.
:04:30. > :04:38.So it does make the chances of holes appearing more likely.
:04:39. > :04:42.This is what happened in Hemel Hempstead two years ago.
:04:43. > :04:49.And this is what engineers' cameras found up to 17 metres underground.
:04:50. > :05:01.Truckloads of concrete have been pumped underground and the two
:05:02. > :05:05.houses closest to the hole have been demolished, but as you can see,
:05:06. > :05:08.work has continued here and they have built some new homes.
:05:09. > :05:11.This was also the site of a clay pit and residents were told the hole
:05:12. > :05:23.David Ketley and Richard Oatr owned homes here.
:05:24. > :05:27.This was the initial stages and over the next couple of days it just
:05:28. > :05:30.started falling away even further so more and more just fell away
:05:31. > :05:34.in time because when it goes you don't know how deep it is.
:05:35. > :05:39.David went through six months of hell.
:05:40. > :05:41.I was not myself for those six months.
:05:42. > :05:45.I was not the person I wanted to be or anybody wants to see.
:05:46. > :05:48.I was so stressed and taking it out on the people closest to me.
:05:49. > :05:50.By coincidence, both had their properties up for sale
:05:51. > :05:57.When the sinkhole happened, obviously I lost buyers.
:05:58. > :06:04.She walked away and I had to take it off the market.
:06:05. > :06:11.Dr Edmonds believes that councils need to demand that developers make
:06:12. > :06:21.They have heightened awareness of flooding issues and equally
:06:22. > :06:23.they should be aware with the changing weather patterns
:06:24. > :06:24.that there is a greater chance of collapses
:06:25. > :06:28.So they should be demanding more of their developers to address
:06:29. > :06:34.The good news is there is already information that can help.
:06:35. > :06:36.Dr Edmonds has mapped where there are
:06:37. > :06:40.Databases like this may prove invaluable in the future
:06:41. > :06:44.for developers and home buyers alike.
:06:45. > :06:51.So, on the map here we are close to this red dot here which in fact
:06:52. > :06:59.The one here on the left, that actually has presented itself
:07:00. > :07:03.as a sinkhole but the others are prospectively where mines
:07:04. > :07:05.are actually recorded or believed to be present based
:07:06. > :07:09.So this information is vital to anyone who,
:07:10. > :07:13.say, wanted to say build in these areas because you would look at that
:07:14. > :07:16.and say potentially there is a problem there.
:07:17. > :07:21.Yes, the dots do identify features in the ground that need to be
:07:22. > :07:27.You may be surprised to know that when you are buying
:07:28. > :07:33.a house your survey may not show up chalk mines.
:07:34. > :07:35.Surveys, when they came back, all they checked were coal mines
:07:36. > :07:38.so if there aren't coal mines you don't get anything.
:07:39. > :07:43.Which isn't great because round this area there are so many old clay pits
:07:44. > :07:46.and chalk mines, which people aren't really aware off because surveys
:07:47. > :07:54.David actually did his own DIY survey before looking
:07:55. > :08:05.When I bought my new house, I looked at the maps and looked
:08:06. > :08:09.at what was on the sites because I knew the survey would not
:08:10. > :08:14.pick it up because they don't have to check it.
:08:15. > :08:19.David and Richard are now very cautious.
:08:20. > :08:22.Once it happens to you, you are always going to have it
:08:23. > :08:24.in the back of your mind, aren't you?
:08:25. > :08:26.When you are looking for property, you are always going
:08:27. > :08:30.They've now both sold their homes and have moved.
:08:31. > :08:33.Back in St Albans, Hertfordshire County Council
:08:34. > :08:40.is still checking there are no more cavities.
:08:41. > :08:45.These chalk mines are supposed to be 1820s, 1830s.
:08:46. > :08:49.Who would have thought over 150 years later this would happen?
:08:50. > :08:55.Rosemary and Derek can't wait for the disruption to end.
:08:56. > :08:58.Well, the good news is there have been no further problems
:08:59. > :09:04.And if you think there is something we should investigate,
:09:05. > :09:09.you can get me on twitter send me an e-mail.
:09:10. > :09:11.You are watching Inside Out for the East of England
:09:12. > :09:15.Later on we will meet the 13-year-old painter from Norfolk
:09:16. > :09:26.We will see how he creates a brand-new piece of work.
:09:27. > :09:30.It has been a nervous few months for fans
:09:31. > :09:33.of Northampton Town Football Club as they waited to learn the fate
:09:34. > :09:37.At the same time a massive financial controversy has embroiled the club.
:09:38. > :09:40.Up to millions of pounds of public money, supposed be used to develop
:09:41. > :09:53.It is the third round of the FA Cup and Northampton Town are at home
:09:54. > :09:58.Fans are in high spirits but there was a real chance
:09:59. > :10:00.that this game might not have happened.
:10:01. > :10:10.A financial saga involving millions of pounds but the club at risk.
:10:11. > :10:13.Emily Lomax has been a Northampton fan since she was a child.
:10:14. > :10:15.Her late father founded the club supporters trust.
:10:16. > :10:17.She is angry about what has happened to the club.
:10:18. > :10:30.This sense of being let down, betrayal.
:10:31. > :10:35.The sense that there are people out there who could take away
:10:36. > :10:41.what we share as families and communities
:10:42. > :10:52.Out of ?10 million of public money, just
:10:53. > :10:57.over ?29 appears to be spent on the Six Fields football ground.
:10:58. > :11:02.So what has happened to the other 8 million?
:11:03. > :11:05.Tonight on Inside Out we try to follow the money trail
:11:06. > :11:12.We uncover the fall outs and the legal action
:11:13. > :11:15.in which there were claims that most of the money
:11:16. > :11:23.It all started when the football club went to the local council
:11:24. > :11:25.to ask for a loan to rebuild their ground.
:11:26. > :11:29.The plans involved building an impressive new stand.
:11:30. > :11:34.The council said OK and handed over ?10.25 million but a year and a half
:11:35. > :11:36.later, the vast majority of the money is unaccounted
:11:37. > :11:42.Most of the money seems to have vanished.
:11:43. > :11:45.The stand that was meant to be built, as you can see behind
:11:46. > :11:55.Money was given to the club which was then passed on to two
:11:56. > :11:58.companies owned by a property developer called Howard Grossman,
:11:59. > :12:02.A building company called Buckingham Group Contracting
:12:03. > :12:05.was brought in to physically carry out the work and
:12:06. > :12:20.There should be 2000 seats in the club's colours.
:12:21. > :12:23.The next section up is effectively a corporate area, so you have got
:12:24. > :12:27.At the front of the stand is where the disabled
:12:28. > :12:33.The upper floor was just going to be left as a shell because the scope
:12:34. > :12:35.of the contract didn't include fitting
:12:36. > :12:41.Buckingham's workmen started building the new stand in the summer
:12:42. > :12:45.of 2014 but then payments through Howard Grossman 's company
:12:46. > :12:49.The builders had no choice but to down tools.
:12:50. > :12:55.Despite repeated promises, the builders received just
:12:56. > :13:00.?491,000 out of a contract worth ?4.1 million.
:13:01. > :13:10.Frustrated, particularly when it is a project
:13:11. > :13:13.where the actual funding is provided by the local borough council.
:13:14. > :13:17.And a very substantial amount of funding.
:13:18. > :13:26.Looking back on it now do you feel duped? That's a strong word. The
:13:27. > :13:30.situation we are in is we are carried out the works and
:13:31. > :13:35.effectively payments certified as being due to us and the project
:13:36. > :13:39.whether funding should be in place. Obviously, the fact that the money
:13:40. > :13:46.has come back to us means there is something happened that probably
:13:47. > :13:51.needs some lawful understanding. So where's the rest the money? We have
:13:52. > :13:55.to go back to a deal struck between the football club chairman at the
:13:56. > :14:00.time, David Cardoza and Howard Grossman. The man he brought in to
:14:01. > :14:06.oversee the project. We've been following the money to try to find
:14:07. > :14:11.out where it went. We examine court papers and administrators report. We
:14:12. > :14:16.start with 10.25 million handed over to the football club from the
:14:17. > :14:19.borough council. From that, 8.75 million were then handed over to
:14:20. > :14:25.Howard Grasse went through to have as companies. Out of that money,
:14:26. > :14:29.around 2.6 million went back to David Cardoza and his father, some
:14:30. > :14:36.of this went towards rebuilding his house. Almost 1.1 million went on
:14:37. > :14:40.consultants please do Howard Grossman's Sun and other category
:14:41. > :14:46.directors. 1.7 million went to other Grossman linked companies. Howard
:14:47. > :14:57.Grossman paid in self ?314,000 in fees. The builders received only
:14:58. > :15:01.?491,000. Taking into account the money spent on suppliers such as
:15:02. > :15:07.architects and builders, the documentary we've seen says only a
:15:08. > :15:13.fraction of the loan was spent on the redevelopment of the bubble
:15:14. > :15:16.ground. But we can't be certain even that much was spent on the ground.
:15:17. > :15:24.After some of the contractors complained they went paid, the club
:15:25. > :15:28.then started legal proceedings. We've seen the document setting out
:15:29. > :15:32.the club's case. Howard Grossman is accused of a breach of trust and
:15:33. > :15:38.using a substantial amount of alone for purposes unconnected with the
:15:39. > :15:43.redeveloped at the stadium. The party settled before it came to
:15:44. > :15:47.court having signed a confidentiality clause is to keep
:15:48. > :15:49.the Thames quite. The loan for the redevelopment came from Northampton
:15:50. > :15:56.Borough Council so what objected they make to ensure that taxpayers
:15:57. > :15:59.money has been probably like that? Inside out has led the negotiations
:16:00. > :16:03.for the loan were led by Howard Grossman's company and his business
:16:04. > :16:06.associates. ?10 million of public money is a very large amount so
:16:07. > :16:12.you'd think the council would investigate the parties involved
:16:13. > :16:16.very carefully. Did the authority not check the background of how
:16:17. > :16:23.Grossman? I cannot confirm or deny that. Like I say, I wasn't involved
:16:24. > :16:29.in the detail. In the policies and processes, I was not involved in. I
:16:30. > :16:32.have been involved in setting up the investigation since things went
:16:33. > :16:37.wrong. The leader of the council at the time was David Mackintosh. He
:16:38. > :16:42.was one of those given responsibility for overseeing the
:16:43. > :16:49.loan. Do you accept that Jude diligence wasn't done? I can't
:16:50. > :16:54.confirm or deny that. I don't have access to the information. It needs
:16:55. > :16:58.a large investigation. I will get to the bottom of every policy and
:16:59. > :17:03.procedure and make sure that those that were in place were followed and
:17:04. > :17:09.if not, why not. How angry are you about this? I'm extremely angry
:17:10. > :17:13.about this. I am a taxpayer from Northampton as well as everyone
:17:14. > :17:17.else. I would love to meet these people. I've not met them, the
:17:18. > :17:21.people are done this to the town. It is the towns people of Northampton
:17:22. > :17:28.who have lost this money. I'm very angry. In his first statement on his
:17:29. > :17:36.involvement, David Mackintosh MP told us that he welcomed the police
:17:37. > :17:43.and council investigations. Mr mackintoshes offices are behind me
:17:44. > :17:48.and he said he was involved. They told us the council did not have a
:17:49. > :17:53.direct relationship with Howard Grossman and that he did not attend
:17:54. > :17:57.any meetings to negotiate the loan. Behind me, the offices of how
:17:58. > :18:02.Grossman. We've asked repeatedly for an interview but he has declined our
:18:03. > :18:07.requests. In a witnessed they'd made that we have seen, he denies
:18:08. > :18:11.misappropriating the money and says that such claims are outrageous. He
:18:12. > :18:15.disputes the claims made by the Buckingham group was up he says no
:18:16. > :18:19.money has been misappropriated in the course of dealing with the
:18:20. > :18:25.stadium project. David Cardoza is no longer chairman of Northampton town.
:18:26. > :18:30.He sold his stake back in November. We have been unable to contact him.
:18:31. > :18:38.Last week he was arrested and released on bail. Northamptonshire
:18:39. > :18:42.Police say they are investigating. Back at six fields and discussions
:18:43. > :18:46.are underway to finish this stand. The club is under new ownership and
:18:47. > :18:52.have agreed deal to wipe out the loan. But the fans, there is still
:18:53. > :18:59.bitterness. I do think anybody knew. People find it hard to understand
:19:00. > :19:07.now exactly what went on. It clearly is complex. These people with their
:19:08. > :19:15.own interests and they were not those of Northampton town. Now you
:19:16. > :19:21.are about to witness them extraordinary talent other young
:19:22. > :19:24.pater from Norfolk. At just 13 euros Kira Williamson has already made a
:19:25. > :19:32.name brand self. But what makes him so good?
:19:33. > :19:35.He started selling paintings at just six years old.
:19:36. > :19:50.Now buyers from across the world pay anything from ?2,000 to ?45,000
:19:51. > :19:56.I am joining Norfolk teenager Kieron Williamson in Polperro
:19:57. > :20:02.in Cornwall to see how this extraordinarily talented boy
:20:03. > :20:10.Going out, especially on location, faced with your subject
:20:11. > :20:13.and the unknown of how it is going to end, it is just
:20:14. > :20:17.a mystery all the way through, because you have no idea until it
:20:18. > :20:28.works when you get it back in your studio, really.
:20:29. > :20:35.It is 9.00am and Kieron has already started.
:20:36. > :20:39.For you, why this particular location and why Cornwall?
:20:40. > :20:42.It is just everywhere you turn there is a picture.
:20:43. > :20:46.Like a little cameo of a boat and somebody rowing in a boat,
:20:47. > :20:50.or a big wide picture of old cottages and all the boats.
:20:51. > :20:53.It is just something different everywhere you turn.
:20:54. > :20:57.His inspiration has come from a school of painters who lived
:20:58. > :21:01.and worked in the Cornish fishing village of Newlyn back
:21:02. > :21:08.For this picture he is using oil paints but he works
:21:09. > :21:16.All of them, oils, watercolours and pastels lend themselves
:21:17. > :21:21.to different subjects so oils would be better for location,
:21:22. > :21:26.I think, because you get them down quickly.
:21:27. > :21:33.He has been painting for eight years, since the age of five.
:21:34. > :21:38.We were on holiday down in Cornwall and I asked for a drawing pad
:21:39. > :21:42.and the next day we went to the Eden Project
:21:43. > :21:45.and that is when Mum and Dad bought me one.
:21:46. > :21:48.And it was that evening we went down to the harbour
:21:49. > :21:54.Drawing with pens and crayons of the harbour, cliff and a couple
:21:55. > :22:02.From there we brought it back to Holt to the Picture Craft Gallery
:22:03. > :22:05.and I was introduced into different materials and that and it sort off
:22:06. > :22:20.We have kept it in the original sketch pad up in the attic.
:22:21. > :22:31.Just a year after drawing these, his first painting sold for ?1,300.
:22:32. > :22:40.Kieron has brought artist David Curtis on this trip.
:22:41. > :22:44.David was also a young gifted artist.
:22:45. > :22:52.You can start to enjoy all the little bits and pieces.
:22:53. > :22:55.How do you feel about the tide having dropped?
:22:56. > :23:00.I have not seen it drop but it does look a lot nicer with it out.
:23:01. > :23:11.When you added them in, were the people there or is it
:23:12. > :23:15.you have remembered that from maybe 20 mins, half hour before?
:23:16. > :23:20.You sort of see a person and you sort of pick different bits
:23:21. > :23:24.from different people and sort of create one body.
:23:25. > :23:26.The body language of that little figure with all its economy
:23:27. > :23:37.To achieve that skill level at this age is awesome.
:23:38. > :23:46.I am just amazed you have done this is in this amount of time.
:23:47. > :24:00.It is like a pile of mud, but if you can extrapolate all these
:24:01. > :24:01.beautiful supple colours from that lot.
:24:02. > :24:06.People say to me, how the devil do you get that subtlety from that
:24:07. > :24:09.mish-mash of what is going off there.
:24:10. > :24:15.It is lunchtime and Kieron has now finished his first painting,
:24:16. > :24:19.but before we stop he is already thinking ahead to doing another one
:24:20. > :24:27.while the light and tide are just right.
:24:28. > :24:29.I think it is so perfect, now, this muddy foreshore.
:24:30. > :24:38.It would be a shame to not use it like it is.
:24:39. > :25:06.Being so talented has thrown Kieron into the media spotlight.
:25:07. > :25:13.Does that feel like pressure on you, is it a compliment or do you sort
:25:14. > :25:16.of, I don't know, take it on the chin and not worry about it?
:25:17. > :25:20.Yeah, take it on the chin and don't worry about it.
:25:21. > :25:22.You don't like it now, really, do you?
:25:23. > :25:28.But Kieron's parents do see the benefits of being
:25:29. > :25:36.We wouldn't be here without the media or the interest so,
:25:37. > :25:39.for us, we feel privilege that they were interested in Kieron
:25:40. > :25:43.to start with and given him the title of Mini-Monet.
:25:44. > :25:47.Without all that, he wouldn't be where he is now.
:25:48. > :25:49.And Kieron has grown up with it as well.
:25:50. > :25:51.He has always been happy with people watching him paint.
:25:52. > :25:54.He has always been happy painting in front of the camera
:25:55. > :25:57.so because he is been OK with it, we have had be OK with it and,
:25:58. > :26:04.you know? It was scary to start with because,
:26:05. > :26:07.you know, there was just this constant with the cameras and then
:26:08. > :26:10.they came in from America and we didn't know which way to turn
:26:11. > :26:14.But it has all levelled out and, you know, people have been really
:26:15. > :26:25.Yeah, with some tidying it could be quite nice I think.
:26:26. > :26:27.Tiny bit, not too much cos you lose the edge,
:26:28. > :26:32.As the daylight hours start to fade, Kieron has now finished
:26:33. > :26:44.I have not met anybody else with the vision,
:26:45. > :26:55.And to handle paint at 13 years of age is pretty much
:26:56. > :27:04.Nearly two months later, I catch up with Kieron back
:27:05. > :27:07.in his studio in Norfolk to find out what he has done
:27:08. > :27:19.On the first one I have done very little subsequent work to it.
:27:20. > :27:25.Added a couple of figures but also done a bigger picture of it,
:27:26. > :27:32.an upright including more of the cliff and background and houses.
:27:33. > :27:36.The second one I have only added a couple of figures in to it.
:27:37. > :27:48.I am planning to scale it up and do a bigger one of it.
:27:49. > :27:51.It is in my blood now so it is going to be quite hard
:27:52. > :27:58.So I don't think I will ever stop painting.
:27:59. > :28:00.And with a talent like that, let's hope he doesn't
:28:01. > :28:04.And speaking of talent, this is amazing.
:28:05. > :28:09.I got to jam with the original lead guitarist of Whitesnake.
:28:10. > :28:12.That is because next week we are telling the incredible story
:28:13. > :28:15.of the Milton Keynes company that powered the Rock revolution.
:28:16. > :28:21.In the meantime, get in touch with me on twitter or you can
:28:22. > :28:30.That is it from Northampton, I will see you next week.